Cancer drug fund lacking support

Research carried out at Bangor University has found that most people do not think a special fund for cancer drugs should be established in Wales.

While a £200 million fund for providing cancer medication has been established in England, the majority of respondents to the survey of 4,000 people did not support the idea of a fund.

Professor Dyfrig Hughes and his team at the Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation wanted to find out if people valued paying for cancer treatment more than other treatments.

"The result that we found were that the majority - about 64% - were not in favour of prioritising one or the other," Prof Hughes told the BBC Radio Wales current affairs programme Eye on Wales.

"They wanted fair allocation, regardless of the disease, all else being equal."

The results came in as the Welsh Conservative Party called on people to put their signatures to a petition to set up a fund for cancer drugs in Wales.

Darren Millar, the Conservatives' Welsh health spokesman and the AM for Clwyd West, said: "You have to ensure that people can get the very best access to the very best drugs for their situation."

"We're finding that drugs that have been licensed for use, which are proven to be clinically effective, are being denied to patients in Wales. Yet in England - because of the establishment of the cancer drugs fund - patients are able to access them and enjoy the benefits through improved quality of life and prolonged life."